While the summer sports doldrums leave many eagerly awaiting football season, take hope. It really is not as far off as it seems. The ninth season of La Jolla Pop Warner – in which the association will likely continue to attract more followers – is getting closer.

According to La Jolla Pop Warner Football & Cheer Association President Scott Rosecrans, provides an excellent opportunity to those children who may have an interest in learning the game of football or cheerleading.

“Experienced participants,” he said, “have the ability to further hone their skills and develop new skills that will help them advance to the next level of play, if they choose to play at the high school level. Over the past several years, LJPW has established itself as a successful program by developing young players (12 of our alumni were awarded All-League honors last season at various local high schools) and being very competitive within the San Diego Pop Warner Conference. Last season marked the second undefeated season for a Torrey team, as our Mitey Mites ran the table. In addition, LJPW routinely qualifies multiple teams for the SDPW playoffs each season.”

The 2014 season officially begins on Aug. 1, but registration is open and has been since March. All registration is done online at LJPW’s website: www.lajollapopwarner.org/.

“We expect teams to be at or near capacity this season,” Rosecrans noted. “The first 35 players who sign up are the team; we don't have tryouts or hold assessments. At the youth level, almost any child can participate, as long as they are within the age/weight restrictions. We expect another successful season with a lot of returning players in 2014.”

As Rosecrans and others see it, LJPW tries to approach youth athletics the right way.

“Our players and our coaches as taught the latest Heads Up Football protocols, as developed by USA Football and the NFL, to ensure players are as safe as possible. We stress proper sportsmanship, encourage multi-sport athletes and require that players to achieve in the classroom,” Rosecrans said.

Players are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA in order to participate.

“Overall, we promote a fun and family friendly environment that just so happens to produce some great football teams and players,” Rosecrans added.

The Pop Warner football concept was introduced by coach Joseph Tomlin in 1929 and began as a four-league conference. It uses football, scholastics and dance to help develop its youth, ages 5 to 15. No individual statistics are kept. A U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission report states that fewer youths are injured playing Pop Warner than are hurt in soccer matches. About 250,000 youths participate in Pop Warner football annually.